‘I know my fellow right-wingers were hoping for a big ideological brawl over this nomination,’ said Mr. Bush in a letter to supporters. ‘I guess for some of us, this feels like winning a baseball game by forfeit when the other team doesn’t show up. You still get the win, but it doesn’t get your blood going.’

The president assured conservatives that he has ordered White House staff to ‘identify an issue where it’s more important to stage a public fight with Democrats than to accomplish our strategic goals.’

‘When we find that issue,’ Mr. Bush told the party faithful, ‘I’ll just walk up to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and spit in his eye.'” — Scott Ott